Europe frets over reduced Russia gas supplies
The Hindu
As 10 days of maintenance on Nord Stream 1 pipeline began amid fears Gazprom might take the opportunity to simply shut off the valves
Russian energy giant Gazprom began 10 days of maintenance on its Nord Stream 1 pipeline on Monday – with Germany and other European countries watching anxiously to see if the gas comes back on.
The annual work on the gas link was scheduled long in advance. But the fear is that – with relations between Russia and the West at their lowest in years because of the invasion of Ukraine – Gazprom might take the opportunity to simply shut off the valves.
"Putin is going to turn off the gas tap... but will he turn it back on one day?" German mass-market daily Bild asked on Sunday on its website.
After the Nord Stream stop on Monday morning, Italian energy company Eni and Austrian Group OMV both reported their supplies from Gazprom had also been reduced.
"There are a number of scenarios in which we could end up in an emergency," Klaus Mueller, the head of Germany's federal gas network regulator, told public broadcaster ZDF on Monday.
"We are confronted with an unprecedented situation -- anything is possible," German vice-chancellor Robert Habeck told public radio over the weekend.
"It is possible that the gas will flow once more, even at a higher volume level than before."